15.6.13

For a night out last week this is how I had my makeup. I absolutely loved it!
The star product I used were definitely the eye lashes, which were only £2.50 from eBay! Amazing! They're called 'Amazing Shine' and I highly recommend them... Super easy to apply and still looked quite natural!
For the rest of the face I used NARS Sheer Glow foundation, Sleek Au Naturel eyeshadow palette, YSL Touché Éclat, Bourjois Kajal eyeliner, NARS Laguna Bronzer, Illamasqua Gleam and for the lips, MAC Ruby Woo which stayed on all night with only one reapplication!

It felt quite Hollywood glamour... Hope you liked it! Hope you're having a good weekend, my night is being spent watching The Voice and eating crap! Bikini bodies are overrated anyway... Right?'

7.5.13

I've not blogged in ages so thought I'd change that and update you on what I've been up to!
My very beautiful friend Jen asked me to do the makeup for the actors in her dance piece for the Youth Dance Festival in Nottingham a couple of weeks ago! Jen is a super talented Freelance Dance Artist and her piece was amazing! Everyone loved it!

9.4.13

So you've seen my Great Grandma's lipstick in a different post, now I've got another historic cosmetics post for you.
This is my Grandma's perfume atomiser which still has some of my Grandma's favourite perfume in it, the classic, Chanel No 5.

4.4.13

So Spring hasn't quite sprung just yet but the clocks have gone forward and the sunshine is out for longer, even if it is joined by freezing wind and the odd bit of snow! Here were my favourite products in the month of March, note that one of them is fake tan (well if the sun isn't being kind to us we can at least fake it, right?)

Eyes:

Sleek Palette (Storm) - The selection of shades is so versatile for day or night! Been packing this alone for my weekends down in Notts when I stay with friends!

MAC Eyeshadow (Mulch) - This slight shimmery brown shade is amazing on its own or incorporated into a smokey look over the lid. It can be used to create definition or a sultry soft shimmer. Love.

L'Oreal False Lash Flutter (Black) - I reviewed this mascara (here) and fell in love! It separates the lashes perfectly and adds length with no clumps or running! Can't ask for much more in a mascara.

Foundation

No7 Beautifully Matte (Porcelain) - This foundation is perfect for oily skin. I use it more along the centre of the face to mattify my t-zone and leave the rest bare or with some mixed with a moisuriser.

Brows

Benefit Browzings (Light) - I have had this for nearly a year now and it barely has a dent in it! The combination of the sturdy wax and soft blending powder is perfect for defining brows without the dreaded "scouse brow" effect. I also love the handy tools it comes with; perfect for travelling.

Countouring

NARS Laguna Bronzer - Perfect matte bronzer which is definitely worth its cult status. Beautiful blendable shade for contouring under the cheek bones, temples and sides of the nose (for that extra oomf). Only downside is it is easily smashable (cry).

Illamasqua Highlighter (Gleam) - Again, a popular product, especially amongst bloggers but this cream highlighter blends like a dream and has the perfect shades of sparkle to look gorgeous in any light! Want glowy skin? This is for you!

Illamasqua Under Eye Concealer (White) - I use this under eye concealer for down my nose (so it appears smaller) I only do this really on nights out or for photographs but this product is perfect for this.

Collection Under Eye Concealer (Lightest) - If you don't want to spend half a days wages on a YSL Touche Eclat but still want the effects of it this is your perfect dupe product. At a quarter of the price it is just as good for concealing dark circles.

Lips

Topshop Lipstick (Innocent) - The creamist texture and prettiest nude pinky shade (reviewed here). I couldn't love Topshop lipstick more if I tried. I have worn this so much either for a natural day look or for a nude lip with a smokey eye at night.

MUA Lipstick (Shade 3) - For £1 this pink shade can do no wrong! Long lasting and beautifully pigmented. Products like this make me wonder why some brands can charge SO much for their products!

Brush

Real Techniques Buffing Brush (Part of a set also) - I am SUCH a fan of Real Techniques but this has to be my favourite foundation brush recently! It buffs and blends amazingly and feels so soft!

Fragrance

Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb - Never mind a March favourite, this perfume is my all time favourite. Try it. I promise you you'll wear nothing but forever.

Tan

XEN Tan Gradual Moisturiser Tan (Light/Medium) - A little pricey but smells amazing (vanilla) and gives an amazing colour after just one application even though it is classed as gradual tan.

Tool

Style IQ Nipple Daisies - I had to include this little helpers. They have saved me from many embarrassing moments with some bra-less clothing in the past chilly month! Try them they are fab!

There you go... my March favourites! A lot of them are my all-year favourites to be honest, I've tried not to ramble too much but hope you enjoy!

Do any of these fall into your March favourites List? Would love to see your thoughts!

PS. My Instagram name is @fionabarbs_mua for up to date beauty and lifestyle pics :)

25.3.13

I have been umming and ahhing over purchasing Illamasqua's "Raindrops" Nail varnish since it first hit the shelves in it's original blue shade.
I finally took the plunge but went for the new "Pink Raindrops" shade as I love a good pink (typical girl).

My verdict? I LOVE this nail polish so much! At £13.50 it is a tad on the pricey side but it is worth the splurge!!! It is super hard to chip it and has a beautiful almost professional looking finish and the actual shade is the prettiest most beautiful nude pink with a slight shimmer!

Do you love rain drops too?? In the nail polish sense of course.... let me know in a comment below!

Hello!! I don't know about you but I can't resist a Topshop Lippy!! I love their shades, I think they have some of the best on-trend colours on the cosmetics market!
Here are 2 more I added to my lipstick collection... the packaging isn't as pretty as my Great Grandma's lipstick from the 30s (read blog post here) but it's still pretty cute!

(Tease-Left / Innocent-Right)

(Tease - Left / Innocent - right both £9)

Tease - A really pretty pright pink with a matte finish.

Innocent - A sheer creamy finish pinky/brown; a perfect day time shade.

What is your favourite Topshop lip shade? Are you as much as a fan as me? Let me know in a comment below... I love reading your thoughts!

So it's 3 for 2 across all cosmetics in Boots!! Uh-oh! Bye pay cheque! One of my purchases was this foundation that I have been intrigued by and have seen many a blog post about....

This is a gel foundation which promises to give a "flawless complexion and undetectable coverage". I am going to be honest in my review as always and I'm afraid my verdict is a negative one (unlike most blog reviews I have read).

For me, the coverage wasn't very good, and I found it mostly wore off on my commute to work (albeit it's harsh weather conditions at the minute I still think this foundation falls short especially as it promises to stay on for 16 hours!). As the day progressed the coverage became patchy and quite oily in texture.

I think this foundation is definitely more suited to dryer skin, as I think the gel/serum base just enhances the pre-existing moisture in the skin.

Swatch rubbed in to the skin above.

What are your thoughts on this foundation? I'd love to know your thoughts!

10.3.13

Hope you are all treating your Mummys like Queens today! Just thought I'd do a quick post on what my sister and I got for our Mummy! As well as a ring from Azendi we thought we'd get our Mummy something from Lush (she loves a good relaxing bath when she has time).

After much deliberation looking at all the choices on the display we decided the Mum Tulip was the perfect purchase for our Mum - it looks so cute in its flower shape. Its meant to be chocolate orange scented however I think its more of a sweet smelling orange scent (can't really identify the chocolate smell in it but nevertheless it is gorgeous!)

You hold it under the running tap and you can save some for another bath! My Mum has just run her relaxing Mother's Day bath and the smell is amazing, there are lots of bubbles and lots of the tulip left!

I was so impressed with my shopping experience in Lush. As the queue was quite long, as it was the day before Mother's Day (last minute I know - oops), the lovely bubbly customer assistant shouted to the queue thanking everybody for waiting and also gave us a little freebie!

28.2.13

I found this brush brand on line last week and after seeing the price I did not hesitate to make an order. Crown Brush do lots of sets of brushes but I felt I would benefit better from choosing individual brushes that I lack in my kit.

These are the brushes I chose. Collectively they cost me £23 including P+P and for seven brushes that is super duper cheap and they took two days to get to me (amazing)!

Overall these brushes are quite good. I'm especially impressed with the Round Angle Blender as it is a good dupe for the Nars one. The Blending Fluff is also a good dupe for the MAC 217. The quality is not as great as the more expensive brands however they are excellent value and are good to have in your kit!

This is my look for a recent night out in Nottingham! I did a Golden Smokey eye and a Nude Lip. I kept the skin fresh and dewy looking with the amazing foundation. I reviewed the foundation, mascara and lipstick in recent posts too so be sure to check them out. I loved this look, I hope you do too!

Just a quick post to tell you guys how thoroughly impressed I was at this face mask from Lush! It has been a long time since I used a face mask (naughty Fi) and my friend Bridie had this one for our super crazy Saturday night (in). It is a powder you mix with water and turns in to a paste. This particular mask promised to exfoliate (which it does when you rub it to wash it off) and to combat oily skin. It absorbs the oil in your skin but to my surprise doesn't leave it dry at all! After following with a light moisturiser from Simple my skin looked and felt radiant and super soft! I would definitely recommend this one girls (and boys).

21.2.13

I've been hunting a new nude lippy for a while now and I've just come across this beauty from Maybelline. This shade of lippy and lip liner (Color Sensational - Sweet Pink 132) are a perfect shade of pinky nude. Like all Maybelline lipsticks it is lovely to wear as it's moisturising and sheer. The liner and lipstick match together perfectly and I love to use a liner as it helps it last and stops the colour from bleeding. Good one Maybelline, see you again soon for another lippy purchase!

What do you think? Have you got a fave nude lippy?

PS Check out my Instagram for up to the minute beauty and lifestyle snaps - @fionabarbs!

MUA Lipstick (Left - Shade 2, Right - Shade 13) For £1 each these lipsticks are amazing. The pigmentation is great and they are lovely shades which are super creamy.

This new Pro-base Complexion kit (Ivory) is a 3 in 1 palette containing foundation, concealer and highlighter. They apply smoothly and is a super handy palette to have in your make up kit without having three separate products to store. It comes with a brush and a make up sponge however I wouldn't use them but are good if you're on the go and don't want to have to take all of your brushes with you.

This MUA eye shadow palette in Glitter Ball caught my eye mainly because of the vast variety of colours in it. The MUA eye shadows are always really pigmented and at a very low price you really can't go wrong.

Do you love Make Up Academy products as much as me or do you prefer higher end products? Let me know below I love it when you guys comment!